ROBERT HAMPSON – REPERCUSSIONS (CD/DVD by Editions Mego) *
PHILIPPE PETIT – EXTRAORDINARY TALES OF A LEMON GIRL, CHAPTER TWO: FIRE WALKING TO WONDERLAND (CD by Aagoo) *
GOD PUSSY/TORTURING NURSE & RICHARD RAMIREZ – DEATH OF A MEMORY (CD by Placenta Recordings)
NEON RAIN – OF THE DEAD (3CD by Steelwork Machine)
SIMON SCOTT – BELOW SEA LEVEL (CD by 12K) *
FRANCISCO MEIRINO & MICHAEL ESPOSITO – GHOSTS OF CASE FILE 142 (CD by Firework Editions Records) *
NECRO DEATHMORT – THE COLONIAL SCRIPT (CD by Distraction Records) *
INNER VISION LABORATORY – PERPETUA (CD by Zoharum) *
ZENIAL – CONNECTION RESET BY PEER (CD by Zoharum) *
EN – ALREADY GONE (CD by Students Of Decay) *
SLUGFIELD – SLIME ZONE (CD by PNL Records) *
ET – LABOR (CD by Creative Sources Recordings) *
TASTATUR – ELECTRIC LOUNGE MUSIC (CD by Everest Records) *
SIGMA OCTANTIS – DISSEMINATIONS (CD by Opn) *
FRAGMENT – HOME (CD by Opn) *
ROPE – TECHNOUVA (CD by Opn) *
JUNKO & MASAYOSHI URABE & MICHEL HENRITZI – ECSTACY OF THE ANGLES (CD by Opposite Records) *
OPPONENTS – TEMPLE OF DECADENCE (2CDR by Opposite Records) *
KEN TIMBER – WORRIED BLUES (CDR by Opposite Records) *
MOTION SICKNESS OF TIME TRAVEL (2LP by Spectrum Spools)
BASILICA/POSSET (LP by Fucking Amateurs Records)
COREPHALLISM/GNAW THEIR TONGUES – SPLIT (10 inch by gnaw their tongues)
DENTAL WORK – FRUIT OF LEBANON (7” by Placenta Recordings / Love Earth Music)
STAPLERFAHRER – BURYING LAMPS IN THE DEEP SOLITUDE (CDR by Striate Cortex) *
DENTAL WORK – K CHAI FLAN AND Z LYSERGIC SUPREMAS 2011 TOUR DOCUMENT (DVD/CDR
Box Set by Placenta Recordings)
DAVID W SUTTON – NEW MIRROR (CDR, private) *
NAD SPIRO – ATOMIC SPY (CDR by Gasag Records) *
EM VECUE AQUIEU – LIGHTLIKE (cassette by Embrittle Recordings) *
ROBERT HAMPSON – REPERCUSSIONS (CD/DVD by Editions Mego)
Today is one of those days I regret I have no surround sound set up in my house. This new work by Robert Hampson comes in two versions, a normal CD and a 5.1 version on DVD. I would have loved to hear that in surround sound (and no, I don’t know anybody who has). From Loop to Main to his own name, Robert Hampson’s career came from guitar rock to guitar ambient and while still Main, slowly more and more musique concrete. Relocated to Paris he is close to the fire, the INA-GRM studios, heartland of musique concrete. Here he created the three pieces of ‘Repercussions’ (which is a classic title for such music, don’t ask me why). With the use of instruments, field recordings and electronics he crafts music that is way beyond what we know from the likes of peers on Empreintes Digitales and Hampson has his own unique sound language, which is still not far away from the latter day Main music. Drone like if you, but hypnotic is a better word. In the title piece Hampson works with all kinds of percussion instruments (piano, drum skins, gamelan, metal), but all these are heavily processed and its by no means a rhythmical piece. Shimmering percussive sounds leak through the dense processing and has a great nocturnal edge to it, like a dawn chorus. The second pieces uses more electronic sounds and finds its roots in early Nasa films and early movies about space travel. Divided in various sections this piece has weightless drone music, radio like signals and signs of alien life, with what seems voice like material. This is the most ‘Main’ like piece on this release, with some refined isolationist music. ‘Antarctic Ends Here’ is a piece that was previously on a split 10″ with Cindytalk, but I prefer such music on CD. Its dedicated to John Cale and has a great stringed drone sound, sparse tones and field recordings of what seems to me insects. A reminder of a great piece. What can I say? Robert Hampson is a true master and this CD proofs it. Once again. (FdW)
Address: http://www.editionsmego.com
PHILIPPE PETIT – EXTRAORDINARY TALES OF A LEMON GIRL, CHAPTER TWO: FIRE WALKING TO WONDERLAND (CD by Aagoo)
The second installment of a trilogy by Philippe Petit, who gets more and more active in releasing music. The first one, ‘Oneiric Rings On Gray Velvet’ was reviewed in Vital Weekly 814, and continues the ‘epic soundtrack, a trilogy equally inspired by glorious Italian Gialli than the odysseys of Homer, Lewis Carroll or James Joyce’. Petit takes credit for electric cumbalum, triple caterpiller drum guitar, processed acoustics/field recordings, electronics, turntables, percussions, synths and inflatable balloons. This new one seems to be moving away from the orchestral first release and works more along the lines of musique concrete. Lots of cracking of objects, played with great care but not always careful, with the right amount of sound effects – not too much reverb – and post editing (reversing sound, slowing down), snippets of records moving in and out, making the whole thing very vibrant. Much like an old musique concrete record, with a nice rough edge, untamed and wild. Not the sort long duration carefulness that some microsound artists have these days. Still, I’m not convinced of the soundtrack like character the whole thing is supposed to have, the soundtrack of the ‘fruity lemon girl’s nonsensical journeys to oneiric lands’ thing, but if I was to take this in a purely musical sense than this is a great follow up to the first part, and it made me very curious about the first part. (FdW)
Address: http://www.aagoo.com
GOD PUSSY/TORTURING NURSE & RICHARD RAMIREZ – DEATH OF A MEMORY (CD by Placenta Recordings)
If you say “tree” an image appears, or “a landscape”, then not so much impressionist or Constable, but more likely a picture similar to those paintings of the Barbizon school…likewise “Orchestral Music”, sits between Mozart- and Debussy- excluding these, where would the Hollywood films be without Mahler? And the introduction of “pop” in The Graduate”, which is now de-rigour in ‘feel-good’ films. There are still many convinced of modernity, but I really cant understand how they fail to have a-priori a sound image at the phrase “avant garde music” without having to hear a
sound. These form a group not so much of holocaust deniers as members of a cargo cult. It is then perhaps the un-heard of God Pussy, Jhones Silva from Rio who attempts to “Make it New”, something which would once have been approved not only in music but still inhabits the philosophies of Badiou and Deleuze, still living in the former! and as Adorno points out has to ignore “Nietzsche’s liberating act” – or twist it (same thing). All three here play with the grammar which is comprehensive and so not, of Harsh Noise, and The Wall, its only the latter two who have no need of modernist demands and can adopt as Sisyphusian denial of “The Event” of ‘Music’. Just examine the monikers, we might forgive a bad Chinese attempt at western nomenclature but noise is noise and Richard Ramirez is Richard Ramirez. (Jliat)
Address: http://placentarecordings.blogspot.co.uk/
NEON RAIN – OF THE DEAD (3CD by Steelwork Machine)
Neon Rain started in 1998 with the release of a tape full of recordings made between 1992 and 1997. The last album was released four years ago and for now Neon Rain created an epic trilogy inspired by the first zombie movies of George A. Romero. This American movie maker combines intelligent social criticism and horror. He was one of the first moviemakers who made a big change in the horror genre. No gothic atmosphere anymore, like most moviemakers did before, with scenes from the 19th Century, but based in here and now. Neon Rain took three movies as the base for their music, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. The trilogy “Of the dead” was composed between 2005 – 2010. The CD’s “A Night” and “A Dawn” were composed by Serge Usson and David Delwiche. “A Day” is composes by Serge Usson himself. Each CD has his own atmosphere. “A Night” has a nice mix between melancholic sounds, noise and is based on a song structure. “A Dawn” is more noise orientated with sampled voices, analog synthesizers and distorted guitar sounds melted together in abstract compositions. And at last “A Day” with industrial beats in different forms and intensity. I like this part of the trilogy most, because it combines all elements of the other CD’s in one album. The artwork of the CD is well done, especially the inner sleeve has a beautiful design in a traditional way for this kind of music.Neon Rain takes time to create new work and I am looking forward to their next project, because this piece of music tastes for more. (JKH)
Address: http://www.steelwork-maschine.com/
SIMON SCOTT – BELOW SEA LEVEL (CD by 12K)
Some weeks ago I saw Simon Scott perform live, and to be honest I was not blown away. The typical man with guitar, picking a few notes and holding the captive in the world of loop devices, creating something that is closely similar, but not as good as, Oren Ambarchi or Stars Of The Lid. Now there is his CD for 12K, in which he musically explores ‘the desolate and controversial environment of the Fens in East Anglia, UK’. Scott visited that area as a child and left some impression. The CD is part of a larger work, involving also an 80 page journal with sketches, photography and writing. Not that I have seen that, I only heard the CD. Scott plays the guitar, uses field recordings and has a self-built MAX/MSP patch to which these sounds are fed. What’s interesting here is that in the final stage he took the music outside again and played it in nature with portable speakers and recorded that. Releases like this make me realize there is some discrepancy between a live concert and a CD release – once again. What I didn’t like about the concert, I do like here. The fingerpicking/computer treatments that sounded rather outdated in concert work fine here in a living room. Great spacious music, with an excellent sense of field recordings. Classic 12K release, to which I should probably remark that given 12K more recent releases towards pop oriented material, this is perhaps a bit of an odd ball or a bit retro for 12K. Even when I like this, it sounds like some of the older releases on 12K. (FdW)
Address: http://www.12k.com
FRANCISCO MEIRINO & MICHAEL ESPOSITO – GHOSTS OF CASE FILE 142 (CD by Firework Editions Records)
More research here into the world of ghosts, the other-world, the EVP. Francisco Meirino went out to do recordings at an ancient school of anatomy (now a library) in Lausanne, Switzerland and then these recordings were part of EVP research by Michael Esposito. Meirino in return ‘assembled, edited and mastered’ the final results which is an one piece work: ‘Ghosts Of Case File 142’. As much as I am fascinated by the work of this CD, or indeed by the whole idea of EVP, I have no clue how this whole EVP thing works, or, and that’s the skeptical side of me, if this perhaps a lot of bullshit. I really don’t know. I think I like to take these things face value: as a sound carrier having forty minutes of music. Lots of processed field recordings, obviously I’d say, which Meirino has cut together into stark blocks of sound. Sometimes piercing loud, sometimes very soft, but always using a great sense of dynamics – the full spectrum is used. Like I have been noticing before, Meirino is for me one of the more interesting noise musicians. Because its loud, oppressive loud, but also because there is a fine sense of composition in here. At times I am reminded of Francisco Lopez, but then Meirino in his louder moments is much louder than Lopez is, at least on CD. A mysterious piece of music here, with sudden changes, fierce sounds and a sinister undercurrent. Like a great horror movie. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fireworkeditionrecords.com
NECRO DEATHMORT – THE COLONIAL SCRIPT (CD by Distraction Records)
This is for me the second time around to delve into the music of Necro Deathmort, a duo from London, following ‘Music Of Bleak Origin’ (see Vital Weekly 782). A silly name, perhaps (since you never know with this kind of metal music, but perhaps the whole genre is about silliness?) and on an unlikely label. Distraction Records have a great sense of pop-like electronics, so what are they doing there? Maybe its the fact that I am not that aware of the genre, or in fact any sub-genre this is divided in, but it still sounds very much like the previous release by them. I wrote: “Its loud, dirty and heavy, evolving around heavy banging drums, bass/guitar and electronics, and occasional drum machines. Experimental dub metal. That may sound like a joke if you are don’t know this kind of music, but that’s what it is. It reminded me of some of the old Scorn records, which I haven’t heard in years I must admit, but which brings back good memories. Necro Deathmort seem even louder and dirtier than Scorn, ripping apart bass speakers. A sort of drone meets doom meets dubstep: more head banging than feet-moving I’d say. Solid as a rock, noh diamond. Not for the weak of hearth, and probably a must see when they hit town. Massive stuff.” Not your traditional metal music (again: assuming here), but that’s perhaps what attracted Distraction and that’s perhaps what I also find appealing. Loud and dirty and very strange. Maybe they are the inventors of a new genre? (FdW)
Address: http://www.distractionrecords.com
INNER VISION LABORATORY – PERPETUA (CD by Zoharum)
ZENIAL – CONNECTION RESET BY PEER (CD by Zoharum)
Two new releases by Polish artists on the Polish Zoharum label. The first is by Inner Vision Laboratory, the name chosen by Karol Skrzypiec, of whom I never heard. “The focal point of the album is the condition of mankind entangled in the cycle of creation, stagnation and destruction. Creation is an idealistic picture, it dwells in an idea of fiat lux et facta est lux.” Or so it says on the website. That might be true of course, but not easy to hear around here. We are confronted with an album of deep ambient music of a higher, darker nature. Lots of electronics around here, processing those field recordings, synths, drones, samples and textures. Lots of reverb too, I must admit, but that is perhaps a common place in this music. My feelings about this CD are a bit mixed. From what I heard I enjoyed it. Well played, well constructed, well produced, with enough variation, without falling into the trap of similar drone pieces. All alright. But if I was to look at this from such perspectives as ‘new’, ‘innovative’, I must say that I heard all of this before, and in a lot of cases from the same or better quality, but don’t let that scare you off if such dark matter is your concern.
After six years Zenial , also known as Lukasz Szakankiewicz, returns with a release. Apparently he was occupied with playing live music in between, bringing him all of the world, even into Peru, Ecuador, Luxembourg and Kazakhstan. The four pieces on this new CD deal with works that were recorded over the past few years, live in concert or from sound installations. Zenial uses environmental sounds, but mainly those which deal with electricity, radio feedback and electromagnetic fields. Music which is entirely different than the one produced by Inner Vision Laboratory. Music that owes equal portions to musique concrete, noise and microsound, not necessarily in that order. This is where I think noise is interesting. Things buzz, crackle, hiss and form long wave sine tones, radio interceptions, stuck together in an interesting collage of sound. It reminds me of the work of Francisco Meirino with some minor differences. Zenial is through a bit louder on an overall level and is therefor a little less dynamic. Also more than Meirino does, Zenial works with computer treatments and not straight with the sound material itself. Quite a loud release but one that works pretty well. For the strict lovers of noise probably too intelligent and perhaps that’s why I quite enjoy it. The most curious thing is probably the inclusion of a remix by Michel Banabila, from The Netherlands. Best known for his (fourth) world music, but here he proofs he knows his way around with more abstract material, although far away, an ethnic influence can be heard. Maybe working on a new career as a remixer? It fits well here. (FdW)
Address: http://zoharum.com/
EN – ALREADY GONE (CD by Students Of Decay)
The Dutch meaning of the word En is ‘and’ and since this is a duo, ‘and’ seems appropriate. A duo of James Devane and Maxwell August Croy. The latter runs, together with Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, the Roots Strata label, which was responsible for the first release of En. Among the instruments used here, we find the koto next to the guitar and of course electronics. They work, I think, along the lines of improvisation, but in a very relaxing manner. Think, say, Stars Of The Lid, but then a bit more freely running about with their instruments and sound effects. Lots of reverb – but like I always say that comes with the territory of this music. A bit drone like, highly ambient, ultimate slow guitar music in stark watery colors. Impressionist music that is not really drone like, but still highly atmospheric in approach. Open ended strumming, bits of e-bow and enough sound effects to finish of the matte color of the music. Very intimate music and very relaxed after a long day of experimental music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.experimedia.net/
SLUGFIELD – SLIME ZONE (CD by PNL Records)
Behind this new name we find the talents of Lasse Marhaug (electronics and turntable), Maja S.K. Ratkje (vocals and electronics) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums and percussion). During the Oslo Jazz Festival in August 2010 they played together and I wondered what the jazzo’s though of it, as I think this hardly qualifies as jazz music. Its too easy however to put this into the noise section either, as there is so much more happening. The electronics of both Ratkje and Marhaug owe of course to the world of noise, but the turntable throws in a strange element. Plunderphonics if you will. Add to that the wild free drumming of Nilssen-Love, not jazzy either, and perhaps only partly free jazz and you get a strange mixture of noise and jazz, which is not strictly jazz and noise. I am afraid I lost you out there – right? The recording quality could have been better though. It sounds a bit muffled, a bit obscured. No doubt not an easy task to capture all of this properly, but especially the drums are in need of more clarity and only in ‘Happy After Party Dance’ they come back on in a somewhat clearer fashion. That is perhaps the downside of this release, which is otherwise a very strong release of some of the more minds playing together. (FdW)
Address: http://www.paalnilssen-love.com
ET – LABOR (CD by Creative Sources Recordings)
Two improvisers I never heard of. We have Elisabeth Flunger who was born in Bolzano, studied in Vienna and now lives in Luxembourg. She is trained percussionist and has played with people like Burkhard Stangl, Hannes Loschel, Cordula Bosze, Karlheinz Essl, Katharina Klement and others. Her favorite objects in concert are trash metal objects. She recorded with Tomas Tello, who is from Peru where he studied guitar, harmony and composition. He lived in Barcelona but is now also in Luxembourg Although inspired by Peruvian traditional music and field recordings, he uses DIY electronics, cassettes, walkmans, interference devices, effects units, guitars, samplers, voice as well as traditional instruments. Together they are the duo ET and this CD was recorded in the kitchen of Tello, without the aim of producing a CD, but rather test out the possibilities of playing and improvising together. According to the information this has already changed now, as they are working towards songs, using guitar and drums. Why release this on CD then, I wondered. Although not bad, its also not the most convincing work of improvised music I heard. The ideas are alright, but not great. It seems as if they try already to work within song structures, with their eight pieces, all of more or less similar length, but it doesn’t work out to be songs. Rather ideas: what happens if I hit this, switch that knob? The recording is quite direct, without any editing or post production and no exploration of sounds seems to be taking place. So, I wondered: who is this for? (FdW)
Address: http://www.creativesourcesrec.com
TASTATUR – ELECTRIC LOUNGE MUSIC (CD by Everest Records)
Yesterday I spend an hour restarting my computer to get one of those painted CDRs out (please don’t paint them) and throw me nuts. I was playing the Tastatur CD at the same time – on my regular CD player – and I was annoyed by it. What lounge music are they speaking of? It worked very much on my nerves. “Are you feeling a bit down? Worry no more. ‘Electric Lounge Music’ are here to uplift your spirits and boost your party morale”, so the press text promises, but not yesterday. I had no morale after my struggle. But today everything is of course a bit better, no failing computers (yet!) and I can concentrate on the music. Tastatur is a swiss duo of Jakob Stoller and Daniel Wihler producing electronic music with analogue synths and drum machines. Although rhythmic its also quite spacious with nice dub effects and the use of arpeggio on the keyboard. Although rhythmic it seems to me that this is music for home listening rather than dance floors, obviously not when you have trouble of any kind, but if you sit back, reading a book or outside in the sun, then this is a perfect soundtrack to such a day of leisure. (FdW)
Address: http://www.everestrecords.ch
SIGMA OCTANTIS – DISSEMINATIONS (CD by Opn)
FRAGMENT – HOME (CD by Opn)
ROPE – TECHNOUVA (CD by Opn)
The website of the label is under construction, and no information was send along with these releases, so we are a bit in the dark here. Oh, there are press texts on the site. Sorry. The first band is Sigma Octantis, which seem to be a band with a traditional line up of guitar, bass and drums, maybe with the use of electronics. They are inspired by Morthound, and are, according to the label, not unlike Mandible Chatter, Legendary Pink Dots, Deutsch Nepal, Maeror Tri and Militia. Their music is instrumental. Spacious rock music with a strong emphasis on drums and lots of effects on the other instruments to make things even more spacious. The drums are sometimes more tribal-used but not fast or ethnic. Slow post rock music which is more rock than post, I assume, and has traces of trip-hop. Maybe a voice wouldn’t hurt I thought when hearing this. Its all quite good, with a really nice production. Entertaining without being surprising and sometimes the tracks are a bit long, but that perhaps comes with the territory of spacious music.
Even longer tracks can be found on ‘Home’, two to be precise, spanning in total almost forty seven minutes of music, and Fragment seems to be the solo project of Thierry Arnal. He plays guitar, looping devices and these days these machines arrive with build-in drum samples, which he also uses. All along that Arnal also sings. He has worked with members of Final and Jesu, and is the french answer to the latter. If Sigma Octantis are about space music, its about space with lots of light. Fragment on the other hand are about space where everything is black. I’d like to positive about this, I always like to be positive, but its hard. Its perhaps because this is everything I don’t seem to like in music. Vocals you can’t understand, slow, harsh drum machines and a wall of guitar sounds. Oh loud, oh metal, oh? Soh? What? This is probably all about feelings, or drama, or even both, and in some circles this will go down well, but not here. ‘Home II’ is mainly just guitars and not much vocals, and still wailing about, but I guess I enjoyed then a little better. Not my cup of tea. At all.
The cover for Rope promises something black and perhaps ‘gothic’ (remember how we use that word!), and this is all about more electronic music. Here we have, the website again, influences from Pan Sonic, Vromb, Plastikman and Orphx. ‘Techouva’ is the debut album of this man band. It contains slow industrial beats, nasty synths and an occasional quieter ambient moment. All of this instrumental and that’s where I again thought vocals would be nice. Not all of this stands by itself as instrumental music. There could be a bit more about this music. Now it doodles nicely along and on and on, and the sometimes trip hop (I do recall people using the word clip-hop, but that is probably out of date now) like rhythms with heavy textured synths are nice to hear, especially when do some heavy labor around the house, to keep to good lively spirit. Sit down and listen and the album seems like a heavy weight on your shoulders. Not bad, I guess. (FdW)
Address: http://www.opn.fr
JUNKO & MASAYOSHI URABE & MICHEL HENRITZI – ECSTACY OF THE ANGLES (CD by Opposite Records)
OPPONENTS – TEMPLE OF DECADENCE (2CDR by Opposite Records)
KEN TIMBER – WORRIED BLUES (CDR by Opposite Records)
A trio of releases of which the trio disc by Junko (voice), Masayoshi Urabe (alto saxophone, chains, harmonica and guitar)and Michel Henritzi (snare drum, wood turntable, feedback amp and metal junk) is on CD. Its already recorded in 2004, in concert in Osaka and has been waiting for a release all these years. I am not sure why. This trio recording is on the crossroads of noise and improvised music. Its loud, screaming saxophone/feedback sound, or is that Junko’s voice? Its hard to tell. But its not always loud or over the top. It can soft and introspective, but its always in your face, due to the fact that this was recorded with microphones rather than mixing board. All sounds of the actual playing of instruments can be detected, and that adds to the strange atmosphere of the recording. Cut off from seeing how it was made, makes this not easy to digest, but the whole thing has a rather unsettling atmosphere. Once you get in, when you allow yourself to get in that is, the whole thing opens up, and its of great beauty.
From Brooklyn, New York hails a trio called Opponents. Joshua Slusher, Aaron Feinstein and Joshua Greco, playing unnamed instruments. Lots of electronics, I’d say, but maybe also guitars, saxophones and percussive devices. This results in music that is sometimes too noisy for my taste, such as in ‘Chapter 6’, which seems to be dragging on, but when things are kept under control, one could say the delve into the chamber of cosmic music treasures, such in ‘Chapter 3’, but Opponents have a more rough edged character to present to the music style. No sweet analogue synths, but rather a more dirty sound. I quite enjoy that despite perhaps that some of these pieces seem a bit long to me, or, come to think of it, the whole notion of a double release, spanning two hours of music. The best music was on the second disc I thought, but easily all the best pieces could be trimmed down a bit and fitted on one very long disc. Fine raw electronic music, bringing cosmic music to a new conclusion. Which, in my book, is always good.
‘Recorded in a closet’ it says on the release by Ken Timber, and according to the press-text ‘hands-on, lo-fi computer generated “music” exploring the human condition (Ken’ condition, at least) through the manipulation of huge slabs of sampled sound’. Which, so I assume, is guitar improvisations being slightly manipulated within the computer, meaning additional echo on the title track. ‘Feng Shui Disaster’ has a more electronic sound, but doesn’t work too well: too easily made without much direction or composition. ‘Space Invaded’ is the third and final track and is an eight minute slab of machine like noise without much variation. Its hard to say what I think. I don’t like it very much. Easily made and without making up what he wants with these varied pieces. Who does this appeal to, I wondered? (FdW)
Address: http://www.oppositerecords.com
MOTION SICKNESS OF TIME TRAVEL (2LP by Spectrum Spools)
We missed out on quite a few releases on Spectrum Spools, Edition Mego’s department for cosmic music, as this new double LP has catalogue number 16. I don’t know why, but its a pity since the first few made a fine impression. Behind Motion Sickness Of Time Travel is Rachel Evans, who released a cassette in 2010 and since then she has released a couple of more works, on Digitalis. Four tracks here, one per side of spacious synth music with the addition of voice. I don’t know her older work, so I can say that this material is more clearer than her older (“murky, mysterious haze”) but indeed it all sounds quite clear to me. Long form tones, long stretched out wordless voice and shimmering small melodies is what these pieces are about. The synths are indeed cosmic, but don’t fall straight into the world of running wild arpeggio’s, but have that hazy, shimmering quality of floating about in space (like I would know how that feels, but I can imagine it, listening to this). ‘Summer Of The Cat’s Eye’ is the most monolithic piece with the least changes, but the other three move and evolve slowly – majestically through space. Excellent retro music – but I guess its not about finding new musical paths here anyway, more like an infinite exploring of endless possibilities of cosmic music. Motion Sickness Of Time Travel does as such a great job. (FdW)
Address: http://www.spectrumspools.com
BASILICA/POSSET (LP by Fucking Amateurs Records)
A split record with two bands from Newcastle. On one side we have Mike Vest, also known as Basillica. He’s also a member of Bong and plays guitar here. Its recorded in a tunnel/basement or something otherwise of a hollow nature to play a massive wall of guitar sound. Or maybe its a lot reverb and a bad recording? No doubt this is part of the esthetic that belongs to this kind of music. Solo noise guitar. You got to love it, I guess. Outsider maybe. Not really my thing. The other side is of more interest, at least for me that is. Posset’s music has been reviewed before, and it seems that he now works exclusively with sounds recorded on a dictaphone, which puts together in collage form. Although raw, but I guess that comes with the territory of dictaphone sounds. This side long piece is quite nice, if not a bit long. The dictaphone is cut into loops of sound and then stuck together – I think – rather than played in real-time. Sometimes bits are a bit long, but the whole thing has a nice flow of sounds and some nice hidden tension. The LP comes with a bonus CDR of more Posset music, but now divided into thirteen tracks over forty five minutes. Its a historical overview from works from 2005 tot 2012, all dictaphone stuff. Lots of warbled sounds, speeding up of tapes and through works a bit more noisy than the material on the LP. With quite a raw and in y’r face sound this is the harsher side of his work, but still fine enough. Some refinement wouldn’t have hurt the material, but such is the way of historical works. The cover presents an interview with Posset which I thought was very informative. (FdW)
Address: http://www.abetternoise.org.uk/
COREPHALLISM/GNAW THEIR TONGUES – SPLIT (10 inch by gnaw their tongues)
This is one side – Corephallism – two tracks of synth pads with industrial noise overlaid – and the other a single industrial / P.E. / Sci Fi “landscape” of filmatic sound textures. These kind of “spacey” tracks appear within the P.E. / Industrial genre every so often, I suspect they have a general appeal as do sci fi action movies. No way would I criticize these, but I should point out that within cinema despite 3D and CGI in buckets, a good script and acting is preferred even by the general public. That said the computer games industry is in decline and the recent batch of action sci-fi films seem to be using “actors” and scripts which heaven forbid employ irony. Perhaps the days of such pure P.E. as this release are numbered- cue eerie music as the truth of an ontology of “slowly stabbing the life out of everything” destroys itself, slowly and in 3D. (jliat)
Address: http://www.gnawtheirtongues.com
DENTAL WORK – FRUIT OF LEBANON (7” by Placenta Recordings / Love Earth Music)
Another of the getting on for 200 releases by Jay Watson’s “music” which “is pretty much a genre of its own..” although the numerous artists in lists of “dependencies” may seem to aid an “originality of repetition” any musical theorist would need to recognize an obvious aporia as being just that in a methodology which despite the paraphernalia is the most simple of syntaxes, which given its “giveness” has to be as anything other would result in the divergence from the rumble and squeak feedback which originates with the use of a Boss delay configured in a feedback loop. Hence
the totality of the “other” from Mo-Town to Hacksaws- like Heinz soups 57 varieties of red brown or cream. The multiplicity of noise arises out of a singular which is multiple and therefore can become the singular of the multiplicity of the unique. This is something which non-dialectic thinking, which has typified northern thoughts and songs will always fail to understand, even the so called practitioners! This is typified by a supporter of Manchester United referring to “We”. If I can once again “borrow” from Adorno –this involves contradictions that cannot be settled neither in the nominalistic direction nor in the realistic one of ideation’s elective affinity for ideology, acquiring music vested with the authority of absolute, unimpeachable, subjectively evident being-in-itself and essence perception, the physiognomic view – a legitimate view because things here are not constituted by the cognitive intentionality of consciousness but are based objectively, far beyond the individual author, on the collective life of the mind, in accordance with its imminent laws. Which is why I’m so surprised despite the OOP review of Noise and the interest shown by Mattin et al, – noise and Capitalism, no one as far as I know has made this comparison, a dialectical one albeit “negative” which not only “excuses” the “We” – above – but mitigates or better generates it! How then is such work so interesting or should be to these is demonstrated.(Jliat)
Address: http://www.loveearthmusic.com/
STAPLERFAHRER – BURYING LAMPS IN THE DEEP SOLITUDE (CDR by Striate Cortex)
For quite a number of years now, Steffan de Turck works as Staplerfahrer, leaving his traces mainly in the world of cassettes and CDR releases. Here’s a new one with recent music (I assume). His work shows a love of the analogue, hissy cassettes, cheap samplers and electronics. This might be the first time, I think, I hear him use extensively the guitar, although not in every track. ‘Astral Showers’ is the one piece which reflects the older Staplerfahrer using a rough field recording of a water stream – perhaps recorded in the shower indeed rather than a nice creek outside. In the other four pieces we have the guitar, of which the first part of ‘Incidental Guitar’ is not really my cup of tea. Much too much a freak out noise session. But in the other three pieces there is a great sense of gentleness about it. According to the press text, the two parts of ‘Color Meditation’ is created with sine waves (oops) of which ‘(blue)’ sounds very much like an Alvin Lucier piece, but is a bit more noise oriented and a fine piece to close the CDR. ‘(brown)’ on the other hand and the second part of the ‘Incidental Guitar’ are excellent examples of drone like/guitar drone music which work. Apart from that somewhat noisy intro, which seems out of place, this is a great release. Time for a real CD! (FdW)
Address: http://striatecortex.wordpress.com
DENTAL WORK – K CHAI FLAN AND Z LYSERGIC SUPREMAS 2011 TOUR DOCUMENT (DVD/CDR
Box Set by Placenta Recordings)
“This is a 72 minute film that was shot during Dental Work’s “K Chai Flan And Z Lysergic Supremas” tour in April of 2011 in Traverse City, MI – Lansing, MI – Chicago, IL – Oakland, CA – San Francisco, CA – Denver, CO – and everywhere in between! Contains chronological footage documenting the entire tour, complete with video of Dental Work’s full performances during the tour, excerpts from the tour of the legendary performance artists Crank Sturgeon, Styrofoam Sanchez, Rubber O Cement, Caroliner, and tons of other rare glimpses into this amazing time in experimental music history!” To add that Dental Work is a young american Jay Watson and that this documents very well a scene or the scene of noise/experimental/music which is a non critical performance based activity which has similar anthropologics in europe. In the main white, young male, utilizing lap top computers guitar effects and “performing” a kind of mash up of Cabaret Voltaire, Fluxus, 60s happenings, only significantly each performer is at pains to delimitate themselves, and extreme forms of Daseinism abound.. or tagging… noisy material using found sounds – pop – “bizarre costumes” playing in small venues to other mainly white male young americans who stand around twitching more than dancing as each performance unfolds. We have road clips and domestic scenes of those “finding oneself” episodes that all M.W.M.Y.A.s have as a right of passage, meeting the occasional forever 21s (Coelacanths) on the way. Such is an attempt at an unbiased description which will already be suspect to those M.W.M.Y.A.s. The noise like the junk food, junk places, sex shops and cheap eateries is I suspect a novelty to some of these M.W.M.Y.A.s who are from comfortable and respectable middle class families, and operate with a clearly visible morality, which of course splits them apart from any cultural critique (Dada etc.) and places them in some teenage road film. That they use noise and the avant garde “performance” is firstly its easy, non-aesthetic and kitsch, and also in the current weltanschauung such “activities” are de facto “avant garde” tools for ‘this’ Jugendbewegung. However- this weariness of cognition I have is in actuality transcendent to subjectivity in its immediacy *for* subjectivity, ”without being conceptually stained by subjectivity… we return to stages of consciousness that lie before the reflection upon subjectivity and transmission”- ha ha! – I’m doubtful that they are Edelweiss Pirates – or their more sinister opposites- or even a positive critique of anything – as such the “noise” here is not the sound of the sound but the coherence of the repetition. A negative Deleuze. Noise as arche-behaviour? Failed khoriographony. In such activities “art” subjectively cling to the phenomenology of things, are ‘original’ and at the same time doing justice in the material, as they in fact eliminate definitions from cognitivity and thought- “denken”, as Kant once eliminated them from the-thing-in-itself, far emptier than the ancient transcendental (fluxus et al) subject which always carried “egoity”, the memory of a consciousness in being, as its unity of consciousness. This, of course, is a nominalistic kind of fact directly contrary to any otological intention… convicts Husserl-Heidegger methodologies as flirting with a science (of language and form) convicted of false or premature generalization… art, culture, music, et al.(jliat)
Address: http://placentarecordings.blogspot.co.uk/
DAVID W SUTTON – NEW MIRROR (CDR, private)
A new name here, a 2008 student from the Fine Arts from Mason Gross School of The Arts at Rutgers University. Sutton was also a member of Ladderwoe, Car Commercials, and was previously known as Current Amnesia. Besides that he runs two labels, Leaf Leaf Records and Highland Park Gem, although I couldn’t make out which label released ‘New Mirror’. Its not easy to say what it is that he does. Its an interesting mixture of electronics and field recordings and I assume a fair amount of sound processing. From chimes in ‘A House Lifted’ to the celli in the two parts of ‘Little Issa’ and the more ambient passages of ‘Ascension’, which also a modern electronics touch to it. ‘Blind Diamond’ works around small electro-acoustic sounds. Its a bit of everything but even with such a variety things work well. A fine showcase of what Sutton can do with sound, an interesting new name to what out for in the world of microsound. (FdW)
Address: http://davidwsutton.com/
NAD SPIRO – ATOMIC SPY (CDR by Gasag Records)
Music by Rosa Arruti from Barcelona, who works as Nad Spiro comes in very slow waves. Last time we heard from her was back in Vital Weekly and ‘Tinta Invisible’ followed a five year also. So, thank god, not everybody is over-producing! Here she comes with a new CDR release, on GaSaG, a sort of new member of the long running Geometrik records. She stills plays the guitar, says the press text, and feeds it through complex systems to transform these sounds. She manages to make her guitar sound like anything but a guitar; more like synthesizers I guess, rather than a box that resonates, as so many others don in this field. What also stays in this futuristic music is the somewhat darker undercurrent of the music, the nightmare side of the future, rather the arrival of utopia. There are robot like sounds to be detected here, demented computer music and other malfunctions of the machine park. I am no longer sure if it still owes to the music of Coil, perhaps because I don’t play that much Coil these days, but it still works fine this music. Still everything is there: glitch, cut-ups, clicks ‘n beats, improvisation, noise all working neatly along each other in a greatly varied yet very unified album. (FdW)
Address: http://gasag.bandcamp.comhttp://www.geometrikrecords.com
EM VECUE AQUIEU – LIGHTLIKE (cassette by Embrittle Recordings)
Behind Em Vecue Aquieu we find Sam Filmer from Melbourne. He mentions as his influences Angelo Badalamenti, Julee Cruise, Stars Of The Lid, Arvo Part and Labradford and that’s something that is hard to avoid when you listen to his two pieces on his second release ‘Lightlike’. Although I normally accept things that are not the real thing, in this case I think I am rather glad its a CDR and not a real cassette. Maybe Filmer should consider putting it out as a CDR, as I’m sure the delicate music he plays doesn’t work well on the hissy medium of the cassette. No doubt Filmer plays guitar on his music along with a whole bunch of effects and as such we hear indeed all of his influences in his music, in slow cascading waves of drones. Shimmering and mournful, dark and atmospheric. Field recordings are used in the second track – no titles of course – to which slow electronics are added, maybe an organ of some kind. Overall I quite enjoyed the music, even when there was nothing new to be detected in this. It doesn’t fit the hot weather which the HQ is suffering from me, but who knows, on a nice, somewhat colder evening this could work even better. All in all quite alright this mood enhancer. (FdW)
Address: http://emvecueaquieu.bandcamp.com